Roost Surveys and Monitoring for Lower Colorado River Bat Species
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Roost Surveys and Monitoring for Lower Colorado River Bat Species 2013 Annual Report September 2013 Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Steering Committee Members Federal Participant Group California Participant Group Bureau of Reclamation California Department of Fish and Wildlife U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service City of Needles National Park Service Coachella Valley Water District Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Board of California Bureau of Indian Affairs Bard Water District Western Area Power Administration Imperial Irrigation District Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Palo Verde Irrigation District Arizona Participant Group San Diego County Water Authority Southern California Edison Company Arizona Department of Water Resources Southern California Public Power Authority Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern Arizona Game and Fish Department California Arizona Power Authority Central Arizona Water Conservation District Cibola Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Nevada Participant Group City of Bullhead City City of Lake Havasu City Colorado River Commission of Nevada City of Mesa Nevada Department of Wildlife City of Somerton Southern Nevada Water Authority City of Yuma Colorado River Commission Power Users Electrical District No. 3, Pinal County, Arizona Basic Water Company Golden Shores Water Conservation District Mohave County Water Authority Mohave Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Native American Participant Group Mohave Water Conservation District North Gila Valley Irrigation and Drainage District Hualapai Tribe Town of Fredonia Colorado River Indian Tribes Town of Thatcher Chemehuevi Indian Tribe Town of Wickenburg Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District Unit “B” Irrigation and Drainage District Conservation Participant Group Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District Yuma County Water Users’ Association Ducks Unlimited Yuma Irrigation District Lower Colorado River RC&D Area, Inc. Yuma Mesa Irrigation and Drainage District The Nature Conservancy Other Interested Parties Participant Group QuadState Local Governments Authority Desert Wildlife Unlimited Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Roost Surveys and Monitoring for Lower Colorado River Bat Species 2013 Annual Report Prepared by: Patricia E. Brown Brown-Berry Biological Consulting Bishop, California 93514 Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program Bureau of Reclamation Lower Colorado Region Boulder City, Nevada http://www.lcrmscp.gov September 2013 Brown, P.E. 2013. Roost Surveys and Monitoring for Lower Colorado River Bat Species, 2013 Annual Report. Submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation, Boulder City, Nevada, by Brown-Berry Biological Consulting, Bishop, California. ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AGFD Arizona Game and Fish Department BLM Bureau of Land Management Cibola NWR Cibola National Wildlife Refuge Havasu NWR Havasu National Wildlife Refuge Imperial NWR Imperial National Wildlife Refuge km kilometer(s) Lake Mead NRA Lake Mead National Recreation Area LCR Lower Colorado River LCR MSCP Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conservation Program m meter(s) Reclamation Bureau of Reclamation USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Symbols °C degrees Celsius °F degrees Fahrenheit > greater than CONTENTS Page Abstract .................................................................................................................. iii Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 Methods................................................................................................................... 4 Roost Surveys ................................................................................................... 4 Results ..................................................................................................................... 7 Roosts ................................................................................................................ 7 Homestake Mine (a.k.a. Jackass Flat) ......................................................... 7 Jackpot Mine ............................................................................................... 8 Gold Dome Mine ...................................................................................... 10 Islander Mine ............................................................................................ 11 Californian Mine ....................................................................................... 13 South Californian ...................................................................................... 15 Mountaineer Mine ..................................................................................... 16 Stonehouse Mine (a.k.a. Hodge Mine) ..................................................... 19 Hart Mine .................................................................................................. 20 Eureka Mine .............................................................................................. 21 Golden Dream Mine ................................................................................. 22 3C Mine .................................................................................................... 24 Senator Mine ............................................................................................. 25 Roosevelt Mine ......................................................................................... 25 Rio Vista Mine .......................................................................................... 26 Planet Mines.............................................................................................. 26 Discussion ............................................................................................................. 28 Roost Census ................................................................................................... 28 Winter Surveys.......................................................................................... 30 Spring Maternity Roost Surveys ............................................................... 30 Other Bat Census Methods ....................................................................... 31 Townsend’s Big-eared Bat ........................................................................ 31 California Leaf-nosed Bat ......................................................................... 33 Cave Myotis .............................................................................................. 38 Yuma Myotis ............................................................................................ 41 Management Recommendations and Future Research ......................................... 42 Roost Protection and Monitoring .................................................................... 42 Roost Monitoring and Additional Mine Surveys ............................................ 43 Acknowledgments................................................................................................. 45 Literature Cited ..................................................................................................... 47 i Tables Table Page 1 Status of bats potentially occurring along the LCR ................................ 2 Figures Figure Page 1 Map of mine survey sites. ....................................................................... 5 2 Homestake Mine winter and spring exit counts of California leaf-nosed bats. ................................................................................... 8 3 Jackpot Mine exit counts of winter California leaf-nosed bats............... 9 4 Jackpot Mine spring exit counts of cave myotis and California leaf-nosed bats. ................................................................................. 10 5 Lower Gold Dome Mine spring and winter exit counts for California leaf- nosed bats and Yuma and cave myotis. ................... 11 6 Islander Mine spring exit counts of Yuma myotis and California leaf-nosed bats. ................................................................................. 12 7 Californian Mine winter exits counts of California leaf-nosed bats. .... 14 8 Californian Mine spring exit counts of primarily cave myotis and some male California leaf-nosed bats. .............................................. 15 9 South Californian Mine winter and spring exit counts of California leaf-nosed bats and Yuma and cave myotis. ..................................... 16 10 Mountaineer Mine shaft exit counts of all species. ............................... 17 11 Mountaineer Mine spring exit count of all species. .............................. 18 12 Mountaineer Mine winter exit count of California leaf-nosed bats. ..... 18 13 Stonehouse Mine winter and spring exit counts of California leaf-nosed bats. ................................................................................. 19 14 Comparison of video and observer counts for the Stonehouse Mine upper adit. ................................................................................ 20 15 Hart Mine winter and spring exit counts of California leaf-nosed bats. ................................................................................................... 21 16 Eureka Mine spring and summer exit counts of California leaf-nosed bats and Yuma myotis. .................................................... 22 17 Golden Dream shaft #4 spring and summer